Prime Minister Theresa May called on her government to do its duty and agree a plan for Britain's future outside the European Union, a last-ditch appeal to ministers to put Brexit rows behind them and take a "step forward".

Just hours before hosting a meeting at her Chequers country residence that she hopes will overcome deep rifts that have hampered Britain's Brexit plans, May urged her cabinet to agree a way to push on with all-but-stalled talks with the EU.

A united stance from the government cannot come soon enough for an increasingly frustrated EU and for many companies, which have stepped up their warnings of the risk to tens of thousands of jobs if Britain leaves the bloc without a deal.

But the first details of May's new plan for close customs ties with the EU - a "facilitated customs arrangement" - won mixed reviews, with one Brexit campaigner saying it could leave the country out of Europe, but still run by Europe.

Her foreign minister, Boris Johnson, held a meeting of pro-Brexit ministers to plan a counter-attack to May's plans, and it was not clear whether the customs proposal, which critics say relies on unproven technology, would win support in Brussels.

Her effective deputy, cabinet office minister David Lidington, said he was confident that ministers, who have long been at odds over how close Britain's future relationship with the EU should be, would reach a "concrete position".